11 Tasting Notes

95
drank Dark Goddess Oolong by The Tea Smith
11 tasting notes

Oh wow, this is quite a different tea indeed. Take the Dancong Aria tea base flavor, and replace the flowery orchid taste with strong roasted coffee and chocolate tones, and that’s what this tea tastes like. Moderately astringent, high on body, yet light on mouth feel. The leaves are whole, large and very dark, but the brew is relatively light considering this…maybe I used too little? It tasted fine though. Definitely one of my favorite exotic flavored oolongs.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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90
drank Ooooh Darjeeling by Adagio Teas
11 tasting notes

This is a great multi-cateory tea! It has the unmistakable sweetness and muscatel of a malty second flush darjeeling (despite the description mentioning that it is a first flush) with the flavors of a golden amber Formosa oolong…namely the peachy notes with a hint of aromatic spices. Together, the flavors combine and create (what I think is) a whole new level of flavor that one wouldn’t ever consider possible from the two types of teas separately. I smell and taste rather strong examples of cinnamony clove…without it actually being flavored with either spice. Needless to say, I bought a big tin of this and am enjoying a cup right now. :)

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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90
drank Honeybush by Adagio Teas
11 tasting notes

I got a sample of this because even though I did enjoy Rooibos, I found the flavor a bit dull and uninspiring. Well, when I first opened the container, I thought this sort of smelled a bit like tobacco with a hint of…a sickly sweet, almost spoiled smell maybe? A proper description of the smell eludes me. When brewed however, it mellows out with a very pleasant and sweet aroma and taste that only gets better the longer it’s steeped. I usually let it steep for at least 10 minutes.

Like Rooibos, this plant has an insane amount of supposed health benefits (via antioxidants, nutrients and more) and lacks the tannins oxalates and caffeine of tea.

Both Honeybush and Rooibos are 100% great for insomnia, relaxation and reducing anxiety, especially when combined with Lemongrass. The combo will knock me out in 10-15 minutes after the first cup, especially if I’m already laying down.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 8 min or more

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82
drank Rooibos by Adagio Teas
11 tasting notes

This is an interesting plant. The dry product in the container smells of pipe tobacco…although a bit more earthy and not nearly as strong. Brewing it brings out the flavor a bit but remains a bit shallow compared to the complexity of variants of the actual tea plant. However, due to the insane amount of supposed health benefits (via antioxidants, nutrients and more) that this plant has to offer, and the lack of tannins oxalates and caffeine that tea does have, I’d recommend frequent consumption of Rooibos simply to promote better health, and then have your favorite teas to please your senses and taste buds. :)

For those not fond of the taste, I’d recommend trying Honeybush, as it tastes worlds better, and since it is from the same family of plants, it shares the health benefits. I’d highly recommend it over Rooibos in terms of taste.

A few more things…neither this nor Honeybush can be oversteeped, (the flavors only enhance with steep time) and both are 100% great for insomnia, relaxation and reducing anxiety, especially when combined with Lemongrass.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 8 min or more

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95
drank Golden Spring by Adagio Teas
11 tasting notes

This is a very great and very unique black tea. It’s one of the smoothest and least astringent black teas I’ve ever had. There is truly an umami meaty thing going on in this tea, but not in the MSG powered traditional sense. Upon tasting, I think it could best be described as an extension of and/or a twist on the typical malty sensation and heavy mouth feel of a malty black tea but with a more savory taste/aftertaste attributed to the heavy maltyness. Great stuff!!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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90

Shorter steeping times are the key to good 1st flush Darjeeling brews!! I was unaware of this at first, creating very bitter brews, but since I corrected my prep methods, I’ve found a new love for them. This one is excellent. For all of you who know the taste of 1F Darjeelings, this one has all the right characteristics in the right quantities…the sweet floral hints (different than those of light oolongs) light mouth feel, light astringency, not bitter at all, with that lovely Darjeeling “trademark.”

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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11
drank Lapsang Souchong by Adagio Teas
11 tasting notes

Oh my lord…….it’s BBQ water. If I wanted this flavor in a liquid, I would grill a few porterhouses, scrape the grill with the traditional wire brush, and then collect and brew the particulate matter left over after all the scrapeage. DEFINITELY not what a tea should be in my opinion haha.

Kudos to all of you whose taste buds can handle (let alone enjoy) this!!! lol

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 30 sec
gmathis

I’ve always said lapsang souchong tasted like sucking bacon rinds!

Pat

Honestly, I can’t believe how awful it was…haha…..I usually find some redeeming quality in every tea I try, even if I don’t prefer it….but this one? I can’t imagine how this tea made a name for itself…I know some teas have a nice umami/meaty flavor like Adagio’s black tea Golden Spring (excellent, by the way,) but this takes meaty n smokey in the totally wrong direction lol

Oolonga

Now I want to try it… just out of curiosity… lol
I doubt I will like it, I’m not into BBQ flavored teas either.

Pat

Haha, def try it…I always encourage trying new things, even things that may make you cringe, just for the experience lol…but buy as small of a quanitity as you possibly can! :) and if you end up liking it….well then, rock on with the Souchong :P

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100

Ooooooh this is a good one! While adding the water, I noticed that natural sweet aroma that makes a malty black tea wonderful. It has a much heavier mouth feel and maltier taste (I love both qualities in a great Assam) than Ceylon Sonata from Adagio, my other daily black drinker. I accidentally oversteeped a cup yesterday by two minutes. I was surprised to find that the extended steep time did not make it bitter, but made the tea that much more malty. Excellent! :)

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 30 sec

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75
drank Pouchong by Adagio Teas
11 tasting notes

This is a great light oolong. I much prefer amber and darker oolongs, but when I feel like having a lighter oolong, this is the first I think of. It has that slight hint of green tea flavor, but with that distinct light oolong characteristic and a high level of floral hints. It’s the floral hints that make me enjoy this lighter oolong so much more than those with a more grassy flavor.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 4 min, 30 sec

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100
drank Ceylon Sonata by Adagio Teas
11 tasting notes

This is one of my favorite black teas. It has a vivid and deep brown brew, a nice classic black tea flavor, very low bitterness, wholesome and satisfying mouth feel with a nice malty level, making this a terrific daily drinker for me.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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Profile

Bio

Hey everyone! Tea is one of my biggest passions. Few things in life make me happer than brewing a nice cup (or pot) of tea, while listening to some great music. To me, every cup of tea is like a therapy session. The act of brewing the tea in itself is relaxing, let alone momentarily losing yourself in the colors, aromas and tastes that great tea can offer. I welcome comments or points of chit chat on my reviews, so feel free to concur, dispute, or simply say hi in the commentos :)

Cheers all,

~Pat

Location

Randolph, MA

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